District play is in full swing for RPAC Football teams and the games this time of the year mean a little bit more. Before we dive into the blog results, let's look at our scoreboard brought to you by MNB Realty.
Arapahoe played against Cambridge and won 30-6 in this Furnas County Rivalry. It was the RPAC Rundown Featured Matchup so you can view the game story here. Arapahoe has a huge D1-9 District battle against Hi-Line on the road this Friday. Cambridge will battle against Alma at home on Friday.
Bertrand got their first win of the season as they took on Hitchcock County. In this matchup of two very young teams, Bertrand was able to get a narrow victory, 20-14. Per MaxPreps, Karson Shuler had 33 yards rushing in the game. Shuler also added 32 yards passing. Bertrand is now 1-4 on the season and they will look for their second win of the season when they play Medicine Valley this Friday. Hitchcock County will look to bounce back against Maywood-Hayes Center this Friday and try to improve their 2-3 record.
Top-10 rated Dundy County Stratton faced Medicine Valley on Friday and won 66-14. They jumped out to a big lead from the start, as they put up 38 points in the opening period. In the next three quarters, They outscored the Raiders 28-14. Dante Horner was effective on the ground for the Tigers as he carried the ball 10 times for 137 yards and two touchdowns. Ethan Latta added 128 yards on the ground too. The Tigers are 5-0 and will play Loomis on the road Friday. Medicine Valley is 0-5 and will battle Bertrand this week on Friday.
Maxwell notched their third win of the season as they beat Hemingford 36-14. The Wildcats got a big game out of Levi Huffman, who rushed the ball for 92 yards on 16 carries and two touchdowns. Kole Jones also was effective as a playmaker with 77 scrimmage yards and two total touchdowns. Quarterback Jesse Reyes had 81 pass yards, five rush yards, and two total touchdowns. On the defensive side, Tyce Cumming had 12 tackles and Kole Jones added 10. Maxwell is 3-2, 2-0 in district play and will face 6-0 and #1 rated North Platte St. Pat's at home this week.
Maywood-Hayes Center ran into a solid Loomis team this week and lost 44-6. Loomis jumped out in the first quarter and built a nice lead of 16-6. From there, they cruised scoring 28 unanswered points to secure the win. Maywood-Hayes Center could only get 121 all-purpose yards in the game. Kody Schwenk was 2-4 passing with 35 yards and a touchdown. Gage Gerlach was on the receiving end of that touchdown from 27 yards away. Defensively, Kade Broz had 12 tackles, Jeremiah Ingison with 10, and Sawyer Dibbern had 10. MHC is 2-3 and will face Hitchcock County on Friday this week.
Paxton had another top-10 opponent this week on the gridiron, the Arthur County Wolves. The Tigers lost 76-50, but played well throughout. Tommy Markussen had a nice game passing for Paxton with 261 yards and four touchdowns. He also rushed for 91 yards and a touchdown. Gunnar Foster had just 32 yards rushing but two touchdowns. Foster though, was a weapon in the passing game with four catches for 122 yards and a touchdown. Head coach of the Tigers, Scott Jorgensen had this to say about the game. "The boys went toe to toe with the #1 team in the state tonight. We opened the game well in the 1st quarter; however, we became a little sluggish in the 2nd quarter. But the resiliency of the boys showed up in the 2nd half as we had several opportunities to take the lead. As we progress into the second half of the season we need to convert on these opportunities. With our first four games being against top-10 opponents, the lessons we've learned in those games will help us out a great deal in the last half of the season." Paxton is 1-3 and will play Brady this Friday.
In another D6-4 District matchup, Southwest and Wauneta-Palisade were pitted against one another Friday evening. The Roughriders were able to get the win, 37-25. Houston Billeter threw for 192 yards in the game and a pair of touchdowns for Southwest. Mitchell Stritt had 149 yards rushing and a trio of touchdowns on the ground. Nathan Rippe had an interesting game, 56 yards passing, 26 yards rushing, and 80 yards receiving, and a score. Trenton Williams was a go-to target too, with 126 yards receiving and a score. It was a heck of a game for QB Nathan Blackman of Wauneta-Palisade. He had 312 yards passing and three touchdowns. Aden Acton had five catches for 71 yards and a touchdown. Blake Nickerson had 158 yards receiving and two touchdowns. Defensively, Grayden Sutherland had 15 tackles for the Broncos. Southwest is 3-1 and will face #1 Arthur County at home. The Broncos are 1-3 and will face Wallace this Thursday on the road.
Southern Valley ran into one of the top teams in the state, the Hi-Line Bulls. The Eagles struggled and fell 60-0. The Eagles never could find their footing in the game and fell behind 30-0 in the first half and could not recover. The Eagles are 2-3 now and will play Sandy Creek this Friday.
Wallace picked up their second win of the season on Thursday as they beat Brady, 64-7. QB Matt Lungrin was 3-4 with 84 yards and a pair of touchdowns for the Wildcats. On the ground, Ivan Aceves had 160 yards rushing and a touchdown. Tyson Sullivan had a pair of scores on the ground and 15 yards and Riley Strawder had 68 yards and four touchdowns. As a team, the Wildcats had 333 yards rushing. "I was proud of how we ran the ball. We blocked well and ran hard. After the first couple of possessions, our defense stepped up and played a great, aggressive game. I am proud of how the team has improved throughout the season," said Eric Miller, head coach of the Wildcats. Wallace is now 2-2 and will face Wauneta-Palisade on Thursday.